Budget Matters Blog

Entries By Lindsay Koshgarian


Election 2014: A Voter's Guide to the Federal Budget

It’s election season, when the political ads and campaign claims will fly. National Priorities Project’s 2014 Voter’s Guides will help you pierce through campaign rhetoric and get to the bottom of how candidates approach critical federal budget issues.


$1.5 Trillion and Counting: What New Involvement in Iraq Means for Federal Spending

As President Obama allowed a trickle of troops back into Iraq, and air strikes are expected to continue for weeks or months, Americans are wary about our role in a conflict most of us think we never should have started in the first place. Polls show that while Americans are divided on new airstrikes in Iraq, most are against sending troops back.


Pick Your Better Border Budget Battle: Can we reach a deal on the border crisis?

Competing funding proposals to deal with the border crisis express vastly different priorities about border security, refugee assistance, and legal representation, echoing the deep divisions about immigration reform overall.


Penny on the Dollar: US Foreign Aid is about One Percent of Spending

One of the most enduring myths about the federal budget is that a significant portion of it goes overseas in the form of foreign aid.  In fact, foreign aid is about one percent of the federal budget.


Deja-Vu all over again: Can Congress Pass a Budget?

With elections looming in November, most observers don’t expect Congress to pass a budget before the October 1 deadline. 


Now or Never: Congress Struggles to Beat its Do-Nothing Rep

This Congress is on track to be one of the least productive ever, with a full slate of immediate problems still unaddressed. 


Give Peace a Chance: What the Federal Budget Tells Us About the U.S. Response to ISIS and Iraq

How will the United States choose to respond to instability in Iraq, where ISIS is at the center of renewed conflict?


Planning a Fourth of July Road Trip? Not so fast: Our Highway Trust Fund is Going Broke

As the flags wave, the fireworks fly, and AAA forecasts that 41 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home this Independence Day weekend, a transportation crisis is in the works. The Highway Trust Fund – the federal fund that’s used to repair our highways and bridges – is about to run out of money by the end of the summer.